The Study In Lipstick and Forgiveness
by Silencebeyondthestars
Summary: It began the same way like all the other countless and ridiculous favors he asked of her – with a dubious text message that came the second he knew her sift had ended. "I have transferred some amount of money into your bank account and I'd like for you to purchase some required items for our next experiment which we will be conducting tonight. – SH" (Two-Shot, Set after HLV)
1. Chapter 1

It began the same way like all the other countless and ridiculous favors he asked of her – with a dubious text message that came the second he knew her sift had ended.

"_I have transferred some amount of money into your bank account and I'd like for you to purchase some required items for our next experiment which we will be conducting tonight. – SH"_

She let out a frustrated sigh when she read the text message. The annoying arse didn't even bother to ask her anymore if she was willing to help him in the first place and just took it for granted that she would automatically be free to be at his every beck and call. One would have quite naturally assumed that he would be more polite to her these days since they were actual friends now and because he respected her more than ever before.

But no.

It was partly her fault really. After all it had been her who'd introduced Sherlock to the idea that friends helped each other out and did favors for one another without having to feel bothered about asking. Of course Sherlock had taken that innocent slip of assurance to a whole another level.

But despite her annoyance with the way the invitation was made Molly wasn't at all disinclined to turn him down. Quite the opposite in fact because a night spend alone in her flat watching telly where other people lived exciting lives wasn't at all as tempting than spending it with Sherlock.

"_What items is that? Better not be anything illegal or you'll find Greg at your doorstep instead of me. – Molly"_

As she pressed 'sent' she could practically imagine him rolling his eyes at her meek attempt of a threat.

When she had reached her locker room to change out of her work clothes a new message arrived.

"_You're task is to buy as much different lipsticks as you can find with the money I gave. Come straight over to Baker Street when you're done. – SH"_

Molly was all too accustomed with his odd experiments to be even a bit surprised by his request and she hardly batted an eye at the words although her reaction to seeing the large sum he'd placed on her bank account was a different matter all together. She'd even had to apologize to the old man sitting next to her on the tube when she'd checked her bank account details on her cell phone after which she'd startled him with her scream.

Twenty minutes later the annoying music and bright lighting of the Boots store that was closest to her route from St. Barts to Baker Street, greeted her when she stepped inside and tried to eye where the lipstick section was situated.

She grabbed a basket near the entrance and walked over to the aisle where small cylinders were placed on the shelves. Molly sincerely hoped that the amount of money was so vast because Sherlock wanted her to buy some expensive brand lipsticks too instead of buying a larger quantity of different products because she was not going to go to another place after this one. It was already too bad that she was on a tight schedule or else she would've loved to bring Meena along to test all the different shades with her and buy them with money that was not theirs.

Taking a deep breath she raised herself to her tip toes to reach the top shelf and began to take out one product at a time and place it into her basket.

It was inevitable of course, considering what she was doing and for whom, that her thoughts soon drifted to that unpleasant memory years ago, of Sherlock informing her his views of the choice she had made regarding the shade of her own lipstick.

But as the memory came to her, Molly, without any real effort or emotion disregarded it immediately. Sherlock wasn't the same inconsiderate and cruel man towards her anymore and she had been in his company enough after his death to believe that one hundred percent.

And his comments had never really affected her attitude towards the products in question anyway as she kept wearing whatever shades she wanted, not caring a fig what he thought about them.

Granted, she didn't have that many occasions to wear lipstick because she didn't bother with it at work but when she went out with her friends Molly hardly ever left her flat without at least smearing lip gloss across small her lips. Yes, she knew perfectly well that they weren't the most luscious pair in the world but that wasn't going to stop her trying colors that other thought didn't fit with her skin tone or the shape of her lips.

But even though she had forgiven him in her mind years ago and the memory didn't bother her at all anymore, she still couldn't forget it as she couldn't forget anything Sherlock had ever done or said that had caused a particularly emotional reaction in her.

They were proper friends now. It had taken her years filled with many sleepless nights and lots of frustration to get over him but she had and with that new attitude of hers they'd been able to build the comfortable and platonic relationship the two of them had now.

Molly was more than content with it because being recognized by him as a friend was more than she'd ever hoped for.

The heels of her feet touched the ground again as she moved to the next brand which was located on the lower shelf. Soon her basket was half full with brands ranging from the typical drugstore makeup, like L'Oreal, Rimmel and Maybeline, to the more expensive Chanel, YSL and Dior. Molly had figured he wanted a vast range of products when it came to the shades, but as well as to the brands, and so she'd picked out all kinds of different colors varying from light pink and nude to darker reds all the way dark burgundy. The last to be picked were the other, more unusual colors like green and blue.

Satisfied with herself she hoped that Sherlock too would be pleased with Boots' product range because the shades in her basket were all Molly could find in here and she was not going to leave his flat again that night unless it was to her own home.

She walked past the lip gloss aisle without stopping because Sherlock had only mentioned lipsticks in his text and came to the cashier. When came her turn to pay the young man, by the look on his face this clearly wasn't his first choice of work place, gave out an astonished noise as Molly began to load the capsules onto the counter. Without bothering to make any excuses she smiled at him and waited patiently as he began to scan her purchases on the cash register.

After ten minutes and her bank account much lighter again she stepped out, carrying two plastic bags in her hands as she hailed a cab, deciding to use the remaining money to get her to Baker Street faster because she knew Sherlock was impatient for her to finally show up.

She enjoyed the quiet ride, gazing dreamily at the changing image behind the car's window wondering if she should start taking the cab more often since the commute on the tube at the rush hours was beyond nerve racking. Soon the cabbies dull tone of voice woke her up from her daydreaming and her brain managed to comprehend the amount of cab fare.

Oh yes. That was the reason she didn't ride cabs.

She paid with her bankcard, climbed out of the vehicle onto the pavement and already knowing the front door was open for her, Molly didn't bother with knocking and stepped straight in. She then climbed the stairs up to his flat and decided to pay Sherlock the same courtesy as he did to her every time he visited her's, she went right inside without announcing herself first.

Molly didn't make it further than a few steps over the threshold before a drawl sounded from her left.

"Finally. What took you so long?"

Molly turned to her left and saw Sherlock, dressed in his usual black dress trousers, white button up shirt and camel colored dressing gown, walking down the hall from his bedroom towards her looking clearly impatient.

"I had a quick bite at a café before I went to buy the lipsticks because I knew there wouldn't be edible food in here. Besides if you were in such hurry then why didn't you buy the lipsticks yourself or send one of your homeless network members to get them for you. You're welcome by the way."

Sherlock had the decency to look a bit ashamed when he answered. "Thank you. I only send you because you know about these sorts of things more than I do and the media would have a field day if I'd have marched into a store just to buy hundreds of makeup products."

He then took the bags away from her and peered inside of them while Molly took off her coat and scarf and tossed them on top of the sofa.

"This should do just fine." He nodded and dropped the bags onto the table in the living room.

"So what's this experiment about anyway?" Molly asked, still standing in front of the leather sofa, uncertain at what was her part in all of this, but certain that he hadn't just asked her to only acquire the make up.

"Yesterday while I was on a particularly enticing case I found myself realizing that I know hardly enough about lipstick stains and what they can tell me about the person who has imprinted themselves on murder victims. I need to learn about differences in between the brands and the shades."

"Hardly sounds like one of your most exciting experiments." She shrugged and the evening in front of her telly started sounding more alluring to her than studying something silly as make up.

"It's important for my work and nothing that has a connection with it is dull for me." He shrugged but didn't sound like he was irritated with her.

"And where do I come in?"

"Simple. I just need you to apply every different product you have bought today after another onto yourself and then make an imprint with your lips. The makeup removal wipes on the table there are for you to clean your mouth before moving to another lipstick."

"But you have lips too. Why can't you do it yourself?"

He didn't answer but the sneer, more than apparent on his features, was a clear signal of his thoughts.

"Okay stupid question. So what do you want me to start with? Should we go through them by brand or by the colors?"

"The colors. That way I can more easily examine the quality and other differences between the brands."

"Then what do you want me to uhmm… dab my mouth with?"

"It makes sense to use clothing since that's where traces of lipstick are usually found."

"And you're going to write down your findings while I'll work with the lipstick, right?"

Sherlock dug out his cell phone from her trouser pocket and waved it little in the air. "That's the plan."

Molly nodded and eyed the "equipment" on the table.

"Well we don't need much. We already have the lipsticks and the makeup wipes so the only thing missing is the clothing." Her head snapped back to him again. "Where do you have it?"

When he replied his tone sounded like he was speaking to a five year old. "I'm already wearing it of course."

Her eyes involuntarily drifted down to his muscled chest, clad only in the thin white and tight shirt.

"What!?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: To**** Shannon Burns who asked in the reviews about Boots, it's a chemist store chain in UK and in Ireland which sells health and beauty products.**

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><p>Molly's mouth fell open but Sherlock merely stared at her, unfazed with her bafflement.<p>

"It makes sense because if we'd use a disconnected shirt the stains would be differently shaped than on clothing which someone is wearing while the lips stains it. I'm trying to count out all the variables so we'd have as realistic results as possible."

The explanation did sound logical to her but it didn't ease her bewildered state at all.

"So you want me to….uh.. to…"

Oh god she wanted to smack herself! Until now she hasn't stammered in front of him in years, not since he left to dismantle Moriarty's network.

"Hence the color of my shirt being white right now. Problem?"

Molly chewed her lower lip, thinking for an answer. It wasn't that she felt uneasy around him anymore, hadn't in a long time, it just was that they still weren't in that place in their friendship where casual touching was normal. Considering Sherlock, Molly reckoned it would never be. For him to suggest this it could only mean that this experiment was important to him and that's why she now found herself wanting to help him. Besides, since this was purely a strict experimentation procedure and there was nothing personal about it then why let it stop her?

She cleared her throat, willing her tone to sound normal. "No. There's no problem." She spoke softly and to give her slightly shaking hands something to do, Molly stepped towards the table and reached her hand into the other bag to scavenge through the small plastic cases. "Should we start with the lighter colors and move onto the darkest ones?"

"Doesn't really matter but perhaps we should start by arranging them into different groups by their shade. Then we can start applying them with going through one group at a time." He suggested.

Finding herself agreeing, for the next fifteen minutes Molly and Sherlock worked silently, organizing the lipsticks into piles by opening them to compare the differences and similarities in the shades by different brands. In the end there were at least half a hundred stacks of lipsticks covering the entire table.

Tossing the now empty bags aside he took of his dressing gown, revealing the tight white shirt entirely, and placed it over the back rest of his arm chair and picked up his phone from the pocket of it, nodding towards her. "Shall we begin?"

Molly didn't feel courageous enough to speak aloud so she simply reached for the nearest lipstick, Estee Lauder's Ambition Crème, pulled its cap off and rolled the end of it to reveal a soft and light pink colored stick. Molly found herself liking it since it wasn't too bold or intense and she applied it, smiling slightly at Sherlock who was watching her with his usual nonchalant look.

Putting the top back on she read aloud the brand and the name of the particular shade for him to write it down and placed the makeup to her own purse, fully intending to take it home with her.

As she turned back to him Sherlock had stopped typing, waiting to see the results on his shirt until he'd continue. After only a few seconds Molly got her feet working and neared him, trying to shove the nervousness back into her belly so it couldn't erupt from her mouth in fit of giggles.

This certainly was one of the more unusual experiments they had done together.

As she took the few needed steps to be close to him Molly's eyes were involuntarily caught by his thick curls and how stuck together more than usual, and when she stopped just a few inches away from him her assumptions grew when she breathed in his scent. She strained her neck to look up at him and couldn't help but smile at the smell which was half of his own natural musk and the other some clearly expensive shampoo.

"Very thoughtful of you" Molly grinned.

She could see by the bothered look on his face that it wasn't often he was thanked for his politeness.

"Yes well." He shrugged.

To ease his embarrassment she lowered her eyes from his to take in the white garment she was forced to ruin. It moved slightly, along to the rising and falling of his chest which left the buttons straining to keep the shirt from ripping open. She couldn't help the blush sneaking to her cheeks at the sight and tried her best to keep her inappropriate thoughts at bay.

It had gotten easier for her to block out those types of feelings but sometimes they still caught her off guard.

"Any preference where you want me to start?"

He didn't reply, instead lifting his left arm, the right one still holding the mobile, so it was now straight across her shoulder and almost touching her chin.

Unwilling to look him in the eye she focused her gaze on his forearm as she slid her fingers around his wrist and brought his arm closer to her mouth. She decided to keep her lips as flat as possible because if she'd pout even a little the whole thing would come too much close to an actual kiss and she was _not_ going to spend the evening kissing his upper body countless of times.

Her lips touched the small spot on his forearm but not daring to linger longer than was necessary she, straight after printing the mark, pulled her face away, leaving behind a pinkish lips pattern. Molly lifted her head to see his face but it was still stoic as he opened his mouth.

"I'd prefer if you'd pucker your lips and occasionally change the position of them as well. Just to keep the stains look more realistic of course."

_Damn it._

"Fine." She replied quietly.

Molly could hear him typing on his phone as she wiped the color of her lips and moved onto a new lipstick in the same group. Next she applied a coat of Lancôme's Beige Rouge and left a similar print next to the earlier one, not feeling any more comfortable about it than before but this time pouting her lips as little as she could.

For the next few moments 221B was filled only with sounds of texting and snaps of lipstick cases opened and closed.

Soon Molly faced a problem though. She had already filled both of his arms full of lips and since she couldn't move to his back because Sherlock wasn't able to see them there, Molly was now eye leveled with the still white colored fabric of his _chest_. What was almost as worrying was that they hadn't yet gone through even half of the tubes on the table.

Looking up at him she was slightly startled because Molly could swear she'd briefly seen his adam's apple bobbing after he'd realized the same thing. She shook the thought away, thinking it completely silly since why on earth would he be nervous about this. Granted, he wasn't the biggest fan of physical contact but still.

Sherlock's chest was warmer than his arms had been and the muscles underneath were prominent against her mouth as she kept trailing kisses, there was really no other word for them anymore, starting first from his abdomen and moving upwards, changing the position of her lips with each shade.

Her earlier nervousness which had been filling her every thought was now replaced by bewilderment when every new kiss made her feel his heart beat quickening in his chest. Even the pauses in the kisses when she had to remove the lipstick and put on another didn't make it any slower. Standing on her tip toes she planted the last mark to the collar of his shirt and after that there were no room for more.

Molly strained her neck to look at him and saw him looking away from her, typing furiously. After a grueling long time he gave in and stopped, turning his head so that he could see the collar under his chin.

"I see I have to change my shirt."

"Well not necessarily."

The words were out of Molly's mouth before she could stop them and her carefully build resistance against acknowledging her own feelings towards him was now shattering.

His eyes focused on her puzzled, she continued

"You do want to make this as realistic as possible right?" She asked biting her lower lip.

"Yeeees?"

Feeling herself bolder than she had ever been when she was this near him, Molly applied one of the burgundy lipsticks on, and after tossing it away carelessly she raised her hands upwards just under his collar and undid the top button.

"W-What are you doing?"

She raised her head to look him straight into his eyes and without stopping she undid another button.

"Well it's more probable that the lipstick stains on victims are printed on their skin rather than clothing." She whispered with a small smile.

Now Molly definitely saw him gulping.

Sherlock made no reply and assuming the silence as his consent she skillfully unfastened the row of buttons, while grazing her knuckles along the smooth surface of the shirt. When she was finished, Molly grasped the two sides of the shirt into her hands and drew them aside, revealing his bare and pale chest in all it's glory. She lowered her eyes to take in the rare sight.

Molly placed her hands on his hips, this way keeping the ends of the shirt from falling back, and gripped them firmly as to prevent him from pushing her away. Her fear was unnecessary though since he seemed to be rooted on the spot, unable to do anything than stare at her his eyes wide.

Sherlock was completely taken aback by the sudden change in the situation.

She bend down, his gaze following her, and breathed in his scent which was now much stronger than earlier. Molly's eyes snapped up to look him in the eye as she moved her mouth to graze above his abdomen, just over his prominent abs.

His skin was so smooth, making it the perfect canvas for her to paint. She glided her lips casually on their place, drawing the 'O' of her mouth wider and smaller so that the mark was now slightly blurred and the pattern less clearly formed.

Reluctantly Molly pulled her head away but did not straighten her body, instead inspecting the dark red mark on his skin when she spoke.

"Mmmh... You know usually the person could've been wearing the lipstick much longer than just a few seconds and the color would've faded from her lips. Should we try this again but without applying a new color?"

To Molly's amusement she could see by his hanging jaw and open mouth Sherlock was beyond able to form any sort of reply so she decided to go for it, throwing all her caution to the wind.

This time she kept her eyes determinedly on his face when she planted another open mouth kiss right next to the last one but this time she did it by gliding her lips in circular movements and trailing several small kisses to his skin at the same time. On impulse she let her tongue peak out of her mouth slightly and when it makes contact with him at the same time her lips do, she can both see and hear him abruptly gasping for a deep breath.

With a slam his phone drops to the floor.

Out of pure amazement Molly's mouth almost stops when his right arm goes around her neck and pulls loose the hair band which has until now been securing her ponytail in place. Her hair comes loose and with his hand Sherlock smoothes away all the tangles and draws all the thick brown strands over her right shoulder to where they fall in a dense curtain. His hand resumes his position at the back of her neck to reassure her to continue.

"Molly." The word falls subconsciously out of his lips in barely a whisper.

She felt lightheaded and her thoughts were pulling her to millions of different directions but this was far too important moment to start tracing them. Molly could think when this was over and when that happened, she decided, was for him to decide.

Her mouth wondered leaving wet kisses all over him, alternating her method between quick and precise to slow and sloppy. Straightening her posture and then standing on tip of her toes Molly followed the grooves of his body upwards until she reached his neck.

Their eyes are still focused on nothing but each other.

Sucking and kissing his skin above the artery she could feel his heartbeat racing madly and Molly thought her own heartbeat could easily match up to it too. She felt his hands, the one on her neck and the other now on her back, pulling her closer and as a result the bulge on his trousers is pressing against her, making her body fluttering and her own arousal intensify.

She moves alongside his jaw line, feeling his breath rasping when she comes closer and closer to his lips.

"And you do know where these sorts of marks are most usually found on people?" She murmurs in between her kisses.

Molly is only inches away from her target when Sherlock abruptly pushes her away.

She gapes at him stunned, with hurt clearly visible in her brown eyes. The panic inside of her is flooding over and she can't do anything than to turn away in effort to run.

She only gets a few steps away until Sherlock grasps her arms to prevent her intention to flee.

"Molly stop." His voice is filled with urgency and emotion, the latter usually so foreign to him.

She can't look at him yet but listens to him despite of it, willing herself to stay to hear what he so clearly needs to say. Even though they might be the last words she is ever capable of bearing from the detective.

"Before we continue I'd like for you to wipe your mouth and apply a coat of lipstick I myself have required."

It's the last thing she expected to hear from him.

"You… You want to continue…"

"To kiss you and do much more less innocent things with our mouths tonight but please Molly before that could you do this for me?"

Despite his odd words the relief that comes from the knowledge that he wants her just as she does him, is instant and somehow she manages to pry open the package to take out a makeup wipe and clean off the lipstick stains that are smeared all over her mouth.

When she turns to look at him Molly can see his right hand going to his trouser pocket where he draws a golden colored lipstick case. It's nothing fancy, just a regular Max Factor's makeup and she stares first it, and then Sherlock with a perplexed look.

"You don't know what this is, do you?" He asks, clearly surprised.

"I don't think so. Why? What's so special about it?"

Sherlock opens it and with a few spins from the end, the dark rose colored stick comes out of the other.

Something is tingling at the back of her head when Molly sees it and it only gets stronger when he continues speaking.

"It's one of your own but you haven't worn it in years. I found it at the bottom of your makeup bag."

He comes closer to her with the lipstick pointed at her, lined at the same height with her mouth. Molly doesn't move and lets him apply it onto her lips. When he's done she feels herself calm enough to reply.

"It's the one I wore in the lab, the day you met John for the first time, and told me my lips were too small after I wiped it off."

Sherlock's face falls when she speaks and solemnly he puts the lid back on its place, setting the lipstick on the table.

"Yes."

"I… I now realize I haven't worn it a single time since that day. After I still kept putting on lipstick, even when you were around, but now I guess that somehow I never wore _that_ again."

"No you didn't. I noticed that." He gives her a small smile at the last sentence but it comes out pathetic.

"What was this evening about Sherlock? It wasn't a real experiment was it?"

He shook his head.

"Then why did you went through all that crap just now? Acting all so indifferently and professional. " She huffed, staring at him with her angriest look. To her delight it seemed to be working.

Not wasting anytime Sherlock opened his mouth to answer but was cut off by Molly shaking her head.

"And don't try to fool me with your excuses. They don't work on Mary and they definitely don't work on me!"

"Fine! I panicked. Tonight was suppose to be special and I had it all planned out but I just kept pushing the inevitable farther away. You see I arranged this whole thing because wanted to apologize. Somehow I've always felt that that instance in the lab when I belittled the size of your lips was the beginning of countless other and more hurtful insults that came later."

"Oh Sherlock." She sighs

"Could you perhaps.. I know that I don't deserve your forgiveness but…"

He doesn't get to finish his speech because Molly's hands grabbed the collar of his still open shirt and she pulled him towards her, crashing their mouths together. The kiss is slow at first, almost like they first want to get to know one another in this new situation, but it turns to more heated by the second.

"But actually I guess tonight was in fact an experiment but in a way I hadn't expected it to be." He murmurs against her lips after the worst fever to taste each other has passed.

"How so?"

"Your lips, Molly Hooper, according to my recent data, look absolutely ravishing in any color imaginable."

With that their mouths desperately sought each other again, making both of their lips tinted with the lipstick that had started this all.

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><p><strong>AN:** **I'm so grateful for your reviews, favorites and follows guys! **

**Ps. I'm on Tumblr by the same name as in here (SilenceBeyondTheStars) so come and say hi!**


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